Shusun Tong (; died ca 188 BCE) was a Chinese politician and writer who served the

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

and

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

courts. He is known for organization of the first court worship for the Emperor Gaozu of Han (202 BCE), as well as for the custody over the young crown prince Ying, the future Emperor Hui. His biography is presented in Chapter 99 of ''

Shiji ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'' and Chapter 19 of the ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

''. According to Martin Kern, he is the best-documented among the Qin "erudites" (''boshi'' 博士, ritual and canonical specialists). After leaving the Qin court, he joined the services of

Xiang Liang Xiang Liang (died 208 BC) was a military leader who led a rebellion against the Qin dynasty. Early life Xiang Liang was from Xiaxiang (下相; present-day Suqian, Jiangsu) and was a descendant of a family who served the Chu state in the Warring ...

Emperor Yi of Chu Emperor Yi of Chu (died 206 BC), also known as King Huai II of Chu before receiving his ''de jure'' emperor title, personal name Xiong Xin, was the ruler of the Chu state in the late Qin dynasty. He was a grandson of King Huai of Chu. In 223 ...

and

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dyna ...

, before surrendering to

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Empe ...

when the Han armies took

Pengcheng Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

in 205 BC. In 195 BC, before his death, Liu Bang thought of changing his crown prince from Liu Ying to

Liu Ruyi Liu Ruyi (208 – January 194BCAccording to volume 12 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', Liu Ruyi was poisoned in the 12th month of the 1st year of Emperor Hui's reign. This corresponds to 31 Dec 195 BCE - 28 Jan 194 BCE in the proleptic Julian calendar.), ...

, son of Consort Qi; Shusun was one of the officials who advised against the change. Characterizing his contribution, ''Shi ji'' (vol. 23, "Book on Rituals") states: "Shusun Tong roughly made some additions and subtractions, utfor the most part in everything he imitated the old racticesof Qin." Thus, Shusun Tong was the linchpin in the continuity of the court ritual from Qin to Han, while the former tradition in its own right stemmed from the Zhou ritual. Shusun Tong was a native of Xue ( :zh:薛国), only about 30 km from the birthplace of Liu Bang, which made him well acquainted with the Chu musical tradition and thus allowed to accommodate the Qin ritual to the Han imperial taste.Kern, Martin. ''The Stele Inscriptions of Ch'in Shih-huang: Text and Ritual in Early Chinese Imperial Representation''. 2000:179.

Legacy & Evaluation

His biography serves as an argument against the traditional stereotype about the suppression of classical knowledge under the Qin: he did not just survive, but brought to the Han court his followers, more than 100 disciples (). While

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

praised Shusun for adapting according to circumstances and being able to keep the big picture in mind,

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...

criticized Shusun's organization of Han court rituals as self-promotion, resulting in the loss of ancient rites.

References

*''Records of the Grand Historian'', volume 99 *''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

'', volumes 11 and 12 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tong, Shusun 188 deaths Chinese Confucianists Han dynasty politicians from Shandong Han dynasty writers Qin dynasty people Politicians from Zaozhuang Writers from Zaozhuang Year of birth unknown

Legacy & Evaluation

See also

References